Neck-yoke



- (No Model.)

L. M. CLEVELAND. NECK YOKE.

No. 448,295. Patented Mar. 17,1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn,

LUMAN M. CLEVELAND, OF DUSTIN, NEBRASKA.

N EC K-YOKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,295, dated March 17, 1891.

Application filed February 21, 1890. Serial No. 341,329. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUMAN M. CLEVELAND, a citizen of the United States, residing atDustin, in the county of Holt and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Neck-Yokes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to neck-yokes for the poles or tongues of vehicles; and it consists in the improved construction and arrangement or combination of parts, hereinafter fully disclosed in the description, drawings, and claims.

The objects of my invention are to provide improved eyes or staples for the ends of a neck-yoke which will admit of free and perfect play of the coupling-straps and prevent undue wear,cutting,or breaking of the same. These objects are attained in the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which the same referencemumerals indicate the same parts, and in which Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a vehicle-tongue and a neck-yoke provided with my improved staple; Fig. 2, a View of the neck-yoke; Fig. 3, an enlarged detail view of a modified form of the staple; Fig. 4, a similar view of another modified form, and Fig. 5 a perspective view of the end of a vehicletongne provided with a rigid neck-yoke having eyes formed according to my. improvement.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the tongue or pole of a vehicle, to which the neckyoke 2 is attached in the usual or in any approved manner. Castings or thimbles 3 are secured upon the ends of the neck-yoke by screws 3' and have the staples 4 formed upon their under sides. 'Said staples or eyes are formed with curved sides, the outer side 5, which forms the cross-bar of. the staple, being curved inward to present a convex curve at the inside of the staple or eye, and the inner side 6, which forms a part of the casting or thimble, being concave. The metal which forms the inner concave curve of the staple or eye extends, preferably, around the legs or sides of the staple, and serves thus the additional purpose of strengthening said legs or sides.

In practice the coupling-straps 7 are carried around the ends of the neck-yoke through the staples or eyes, and will have free play in said staples or eyes, so that if the horses pull out or crowd inward the doubled ends of the straps will rock in the concave bearing-surface 6 and be guided and confined by the convex confining-surface 5.

It is a well-known fact that strain upon a strap doubled around an object will cause the portions of the strap nearest to the edges to stretch more than the central portion of the same, and the peculiar form of my improved staple or eye will just [it this shape of the doubled strap, and consequently preventtearing or breaking of the strap, which is llable to occur in a rectangular staple or eye. The thick legs or sides of the staple are less liable to cut the strap than the thin legs or sides of the staple now commonly in use.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings the staple or eye is shown as formed upon a thimble fitting upon the end of the neck-yoke.

In Fig. 3 the staple is formed upon a casting secured by the screws 3 to the under side of the end of the yoke, and in Fig. 4 the thimble is shown as open upon its upper side for purposes of lightness and economy of metal.

In Fig. 5 the eyes are shown as formed 1ntegral with the arms of the yoke,the yoke being in this illustration of the form usually employed with carriagesof the heavier type, such as stages, omnibuses, landaus, &c.

Having thus fully described the construction and arrangement or combination of the several parts of my improved neck-yoke, its use, and advantages, what I claim as new is 1. An eye for neck-yokes, formed with aconcave bearing side for the coupling-strap and a convex confining side for the same, sub stantially as described.

2. A neck-yoke provided with eyes at its ends formed with concave bearing side and convex confining side for the coupling-straps, substantially as described.

3. In a neck-yoke, a casting 3,formed with a staple 4, having a concave bearing side 6 and an outer convex confining side 5, and with thick curved legs or sides, substantially as In testimony whereof I affix my signature in described. presence of two Witnesses.

4. In a neck-yoke, a casting or thinible 3, I fitted upon the end of the yoke and formed LUMAN M. CLEVELAND. 5 with a staple havingan inwardly-curved outer side'and aeoneave inner side having its metal Vitnesses: extending around the legs of the staple, sub- \VM. J. ROBERTSON,

stantially as described.

H. A. SHEFFER. 

